Linda Wensrich recently emailed me to update me on how much of a help her York Nordic folding walking poles helped her during her recent adventure in Europe. As we all know, having walking poles helps tremendously with balance and stability but who knew that they could lead to the front row and one on one with the Mona Lisa, read below to enjoy Linda's recount of her travel story. (we didn't have a picture of Linda, so I found the above picture online here which gives you a feel for preferred access with the Mona Lisa)

I wanted to let you know how invaluable your walking poles were to me on my trip in Europe. 

My knees are stiff anyway and I injured one knee about 6 weeks before the trip. In addition I tend to have vertigo in rooms with high ceilings.

I had an unplanned "comparison" in navigating on uneven pavers and high ceilings with and without your poles. The poles were in my suitcase which was misplaced in transit for all of the first week! So my first week was very difficult. 

Once I finally got my suitcase, I took the poles for a celebratory walk down the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and immediately noticed an improvement in my walking ability. As I visited galleries and cathedrals I also noticed significantly less feeling of vertigo. Stairs were still a challenge due to my injured knee but the poles alerted people that I would be moving more slowly.

As I became confident with the poles, my stride lengthened and I was better able to keep up with tour groups.

One interesting side story. My visit to the Louvre was in the afternoon so it was very crowded. Of course, there was a mob at the Mona Lisa. I stood in the mob and slowly advanced forward (the people at the front were periodically asked by the guards to move aside). When I finally got to the front, a guard saw my poles and immediately opened the ropes so I could step forward to move up to the wooden rail that separated us from the famous painting! I had a minute of my own one-on-one time with Mona Lisa!!

I thought you would enjoy my story.

~ Linda Wensrich, Sacramento, California

We hope this inspires you to buy that set of folding walking poles and book that trip to Europe, Asia, South America, or even commit to a local trip with your grandchildren to the local zoo or museum. You can do it!